Rating: 4 of 5 
Sweet and heartwarming, this coming of age story is well told with wisdom and strength.
I loved the language of the film, the words and sentences. I don’t know how much of that came directly from the book, since I haven’t read it, but a lot of it was very good.
I especially liked August’s speech about how learning to deal with bees was like learning to deal with life. Don’t be afraid, but don’t be foolish. It was more eloquent than that, but sweet and simple. And Lily had some really great lines in there as well.
Dakota’s voice served the strength and pain and beauty of the south in remarkable ways.
And I really liked the Southern flavor of it all. The South at that time in history was flawed, but it was also rich with history and flavor, warm and beautiful and not afraid of things beyond tangible understanding. Maybe that’s an idealized view, but it’s mine nonetheless. I thought this was reflected beautifully in the way the film was shot with great colors and sunlight.
Queen Latifah as almost a living black Madonna for Lily was fantastic.
And May,
was amazing.The romance with Zack was sweet. I liked that he was the friend she needed.
And all the supporting characters were so well developed with their own lives. I particularly loved Paul Bettany. Because even when he was being horrible there was a humanity to his character. I loved his last line, how he lied because she didn’t come back for him. It was so sweet and heartbreaking and evoked such sympathy for the bad guy.
Really well done all around.
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